Dee, Lavada - Nothing to Lose [Blackhawk Brothers] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) by Lavada Dee Read Free Book Online Page B

Cooper whispered as he moved his lips close to her neck.
    His words, even as quiet as they were, broke the trance, and together they moved down the drive. As they opened the door, the scent of dinner greeted them. Galynn had put a chicken in the Crock-Pot that morning, and within a half hour, chicken and noodles were on the table. Galynn enjoyed Cooper’s appetite. She’d gotten to where she hated to cook because nothing ever satisfied Mick. More often than not, it sparked a violent fight.
    Usually Cooper seemed to prefer eating in front of the TV while watching the news. Tonight he’d filled his plate from the stove as usual, but sat down at the kitchen table. Whether they were talking or quiet, there was a comfortable feeling to just being together. It would be hard to leave all this, and especially Cooper. Mentally, Galynn shook off the gloomy thoughts that leaving brought. They made small talk about the upcoming weekend. Coop wanted to take her over to his folks’, and she was resisting. “I’m not going to be here much longer. It’s better for everyone if I stay in the background.”
    Cooper finished eating and pushed back his chair to get up and pour a couple cups of coffee. Bringing them back to the table, he set one down in front of her but didn’t sit back down at the table. Instead, he leaned against the counter, casually crossing his legs at the ankles. “They want to meet you. And, I want it, too.”
    She rubbed her fingers against her forehead. This was so hard. She wanted to make Cooper happy, but going to his parents’?
Not a good idea.
She smiled up and him and said, “I’ll think about it.”
    He knew he’d won. She saw it in his quick smile. Darn the guy. They communicated like she’d never been able to with anyone else, ever.
    Pushing away from the counter, he said, “Come on, let’s get this kitchen cleaned up and catch the last of the news.”
    “You go ahead. I won’t take but a minute, and I’ll join you.”
    “Not on your life. It’ll take even less time with two of us.”
    Surprisingly, he was right. They worked in perfect tandem. Coop took a last swipe across the counter and then poured them fresh cups of coffee before heading for the living room. Snapping on the news, he sank down on the end of the sofa, leaving room for her to sit with him. She felt tempted, but at the last second, she chose the chair.
    By the time the news ended, Coop had fallen asleep. She switched over to one of her favorite programs. It wasn’t long before she could hear Coop’s breath deepen. Galynn listened as the sound of not quite a snore, but more of a sexy sigh escaped from his half-parted lips. Could it get any better than this? It was going to be hard to leave, but as sad as it made her feel, she knew she would have to start seriously thinking about it soon. She’d gotten his financial files on the computer and into an accounting program, but there was still so much she could do.
    Monday, she promised herself. She’d wait until they were in the office, as it seemed things were less personal in a business environment. She’d make him listen this time. He visibly showed relief when he’d come back to the office or house after being gone. It seemed like he always half expected to find a
thank you and good-bye
note. She didn’t want to do that. Next week she’d borrow his car and get a suitcase and bus tickets. This was the last leg of her journey. When she got to Seattle, she’d use the last set of her forged identity papers to again be someone new.
    The program on the television was about death and someone who could speak with spirits. It wasn’t exactly uplifting, in fact it was downright depressing in her state of mind. But, then, it was so far into fantasy it didn’t begin to touch real life, so maybe not such a bad program after all.
    A commercial came on, and she gathered her cup with Coop’s and took them out to the kitchen. By the time she got back, he had woken up. He gave her a